New patrol cars to hit Palo Alto streets

Drivers who know to slow down when they spot the familiar front end of a Ford Crown Victoria will need to get used to something new in Palo Alto.

On Monday, the city council is expected to approve spending nearly $287,800 on six new patrol cars made by Chevrolet. The item is on the consent calendar, a portion of the agenda that is typically passed with a single vote.

Lt. Dave Flohr told The Daily News he was tasked last year by Chief Dennis Burns to find a replacement for the outgoing Crown Victoria, which the police department has used since 1992.

"They've been a great tool for us for 21 years. It's just they don't make them anymore and we had to find something that would do what we are asking it to do," Flohr said in a phone interview Friday.

The police department put the latest offerings from the Big Three to the test before settling on the Chevrolet Caprice.

"They're all amazing vehicles. They all handled great," Flohr said. "It really came down to space."

The Caprice has the biggest trunk, though it is still smaller than that of the Crown Victoria. Flohr said patrol officers need space to store everything from report forms to fire extinguishers to traffic cones.

Flohr said the police department expects to take delivery of the patrol cars by June. They are being built in Australia by Holden, a subsidiary of General Motors, and will be shipped to Belmont-based Priority 1 Public Safety to be outfitted with radios and other equipment.

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The six patrol cars slated for replacement are all more than seven years old and have between 91,000 and 105,000 miles on the odometer, according to a report prepared for the council meeting. Under the city's vehicle and equipment replacement policy, patrol cars are supposed to be reviewed for replacement every four years or 85,000 miles.

The police department has a total of 25 patrol cars. Flohr said the plan is to replace a handful each year as they become too costly to repair.

"Some of these vehicles run 22 hours a day or more," he said. "They're constantly running."

The Caprice was used by the police department before it switched to the Crown Victoria, Flohr said.

"It's the return of a nameplate that worked well for us before," he said. "I'm sure it will do great when it arrives."

Flohr said it shouldn't take the public long to catch on to the change.

"I'm sure people will start to recognize the front ends of those cars when they start hitting the streets," he said with a laugh.